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Phillip Island Penguins Tour: Wine Tasting, Lunch, and Iconic Penguin Parade

4.9

89 Ratings

Southbank

Experience the best of Phillip Island with a local guide. Enjoy wine tasting, lunch, and a visit to the iconic Penguin Parade. Book now for an unforgettable adventure!

Duration: 12 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Caldermeade Farm and Cafe - You will have a chance to grab a freshly made coffee, some snacks for the road, and of course - pet the friendly baby animals!
Phillip Island Winery - Arriving into this beautiful estate, you’ll quickly realise why the Phillip Island Winery is a favoured spot for both locals and visitors alike.

Take part in a Wine Tasting Experience, right at the cellar door - tasting a range of different wines harvested throughout the Gippsland Region.

Following your tasting, you will sit down and enjoy delicious share-plate Winery Lunch feast.
Complete with Wood Fired Pizzas, Antipasto Platters, Salads, and the ever favourite hot chips (fries).

Take some time out here to buy more wine, beers, or ciders should you wish - it’s a chilled experience here.

Cowes - Cowes is Phillip Island’s main commercial hub, and is a bustling location of restaurants, cafes, breweries, and boutique shops.

Here you will have time to explore in your own time.
Our guide will point out the notable spots, and then allow you some freedom to wander.

Visit the ever popular brewery, take a seat at the pub overlooking the waterfront, take part in some retail therapy, take a stroll along the jetty, or even go for a dip in the sparkling blue waters.
The time is yours!

Maybe you are wanting your fix of the cute and cuddly (and some not so much) Australian Native Wildlife.
Well, now is your chance to get up close and personal with some of Australia’s best.
Do so at the Phillip Island Wildlife Park, where you will have the chance to pet a Kangaroo, say Hi to a Koala, Feed the Wallabies, and even get harassed by an Emu (in a nice way of course)
Note: this is are your own expense ($21pp) and will be in place of your times at Cowes

The Nobbies Centre - This is already one of Phillip Island’s main attractions, simply for the sheer beauty it possess - however, we visit this stunning spot right on Golden Hour, allowing us a perfect sight over the glistening waters and rocky cliffs.

Enjoy this moment with a Glass of Sparking Wine and Canapes, as you enjoy the views and take a walk along the boardwalk, taking in spectacular sights, and glimpses of native wildlife.

We depart from here along the back roads, providing us unparalleled views over Westernport Bay and Bass Strait, with even more wildlife to spot.

Phillip Island Nature Parks - Penguin Parade - A “must do” whilst in Melbourne/Victoria, the Penguin Parade has long been the star attraction of Phillip Island.

We arrive here early enough so as you can take some time in this world-class visitor centre, and grab a bite to eat from the cafe should you wish.

You will then make your way out to the Penguin Viewing Platform, awaiting the arrival of the stars of the shows - the Little Penguins.

As the sun begins to set, your ranger-guide will provide you information on these cute little creatures, and then you will see literally thousands of them make their way onto the beach and up the hill side.

Walk along the boardwalk as you get within inches of these native Australian Penguins, admiring their uniqueness and cuteness alike.

Once we have had our cuteness overload, we board back on the bus - making our way back to Melbourne…with plenty of good memories to accompany us for the journey back

What's Included

Snacks
Lunch
Bottled water
Penguin Parade Entry
Cellar Door Wine Tasting AND Glass of Sparkling Wine

Additional Information

Experience the best of Phillip Island, with a local guide by your side, including of course a visit to the Phillip Island Penguin Parade to watch the famed little Penguins come up onto the beach.

Journey with us onto picturesque Phillip Island, as you enjoy an afternoon of delicious food from a local winery; sample some of the regions best wines; explore the beaches and native wildlife retreats; watch the sunset with Sparkling Wine; and of course, watch the world-famed Penguin Parade.

Location

100R St Kilda Rd

Saint Kilda Road

We pick up from outside the Melbourne Arts Centre - look for the Giant Spire on top. Enjoy a walk across the picturesque Princess St Bridge and a Coffee whilst you wait. And the end of the night, we will drop back here or we can drop back at your accommodation within the CBD if you request this.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(89 Ratings)

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Dennis

Apr 18, 2024

An amazing day - This trip was an absolute blast. Our guide, Rod, was one in a million. He was full of knowledge and made everyone in the group feel welcomed. The flexibility of the tour was appreciated. We got to experience Koalas while the rest of our group enjoyed the small town. Thanks for the memories, Rod!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Dream824629

Apr 17, 2024

An amazing experience! - What an amazing experience! Our tour guide Rod was the best! Full of knowledge and laughter. He went out of way to make this a memorable trip. I highly recommend booking this tour. You will not regret it!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Mingkwan_p

Apr 11, 2024

Great day trip! - Great guide. She was really lovely. The group was small so we all stick together and that makes it more fun 😁

Review provided by Viator

L711xxanned

Apr 5, 2024

Tour Local is the company to choose for a Phillip Island tour - Wine, penguins, food tour was absolutely amazing! 10 out of 5 stars! Caitlin was the perfect driver/guide - knowledgeable, approachable and fun. The tour itself is fantastic value for money. You get to see so much of Australia’s wildlife and drink its wine. What more could you ask of a day?

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Daniel_b

Mar 19, 2024

Great way to see a lot in a single day! - Great way to pack a lot into a single day... the penguin experience is very far from Melbourne, so it's a long day of travel on twisty/bumpy roads at high speed - I'd recommend taking a dramamine if you're so inclined. But you get to see & do a lot of fun things along the way, which makes it worth it. I really enjoyed the chance to see koalas up close in the sanctuary (since when you see them in the wild they're usually up pretty high). Also liked the wine tasting & lunch portion of the journey (though I would recommend for future tours, it was a bit awkward having the whole tour group trying to maneuver around the two charcuterie boards, and also awkward sharing the space with non-tour guests who you had to explain to that the food/wine was not free lol. If they could have set up a designated area with smaller plates on hi-top tables that would have made it much better). The penguin part was cute - I didn't love it the way I thought I would, but it was still a very interesting experience. I think the part I liked best was the ocean view stop at golden hour - really beautiful scenery and a nice long relaxing stay to soak it in, plus a glass of champagne was a nice bonus! Overall, I highly recommend!

Review provided by Viator

Daniel_m

Mar 16, 2024

Great time. - The Penguin Parade was the best part and the wine tasting was a nice mix. Plenty of room on the ride there and back.

Review provided by Viator

95ksenijad

Mar 6, 2024

Penguin parade with wine tasting excursion is a must - The trip was amazing, made doubly so by our guide Caitlin. She was very informative, entertaining, energetic and conside to all our needs. A must do experience when visiting Melbourne area.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Charlotte_m

Mar 2, 2024

An unexpectedly fabulous experience, except for hotel drop off - Tours start around noon. The penguin parade doesn't start until around 8:45pm. You'll also want time to hang around after the parade and watch them waddle from the beach to their nest and chick. You'll get back to Melbourne around midnight. I wasn't expecting much from this tour, as I figured the star attraction were the penguins. Kate was our tour guide. I figured the wine tasting would be packed with a 100 tourists and the Koala Sanctuary just another zoo. Well, I was shockingly surprised! The wine wasn't stellar but the grazing board and the wood-fired pizza were delicious. Our small group of 6 were the only ones at the winery. The Koala Sanctuary was more than that...wallabies, geese, cockatoos, galas, etc. in a natural habitat. We were able to get 12-15 feet from some of the wildlife. The total length of the trails was about a mile of easy walking. Kate gave us great advice as to where to sit at the penguin parade, which wound up being a critical viewing logistic. The pace of the tour was leisurely, which fit our particular group perfectly. The bad news: the meeting and pickup instructions said they would drop you off at your hotel in the CBD, if requested. Kate was unaware of this but, agreed to drop all of us off closer to our hotels. We'll never assume again that the operator is in communication with the tour guide. Confirm any request(s) made through the operator, with the guide, before you step into that vehicle!

Review provided by Viator

Suzan_l

Mar 18, 2024

Koalas, penguins and Wallaby's oh my! - We really enjoyed our day. Caitlin was an excellent driver and tour guide. We loved seeing all of the animals and the scenery was breathtaking. She was lovely and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed this tour. I would have given a 5 star rating, but we had a bit of a rough start because Viator did not uodate the tour start time which resulted in us waiting around for over 2 hour (we thought we had been left behind). Adding insult to injury, a bad accident on rhe highway hindered Caitlin's journey to pick us up but she did text to let us know. Obviously that was not anyone's faullt. The tour company was genuinely apologetic for the issues and I think it was just a series of unfortunate events.

Review provided by Viator

Nina_s